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Humour As a Guerrilla Tactic: the West German Student Movement’S Mockery of the Establishmentã IRSH 52 (2007), pp. 115–132 DOI: 10.1017/S002085900700315X # 2007 Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis Humour as a Guerrilla Tactic: The West German Student Movement’s Mockery of the Establishmentà Simon Teune Summary: A small group within the German student movement of the 1960s expressed its critique of society in humorous protests that condensed the urge for a non-materialist, individualistic, and libertarian change. In the early phase of an emerging cycle of protest, Spassguerilla [fun guerrilla] contributed to shaping the face of the student movement, despite differences with the more traditional groups within that movement. In happenings, pamphlets, and judicial trials, humorous activists derided conventional ways of thinking and living. A responsive environ- ment played a decisive role in shaping the image of the insurgents, thus reinforcing the impact of their actions and drawing in sympathizers. INTRODUCTION Humour and amusement are probably not the first associations one would make with reference to politics in postwar West Germany. On the contrary, the young state was characterized by a rigid conservatism and the legacy of authoritarianism continued to prevail. Yet a certain type of humour is a telling expression of the political and cultural transformation the country experienced in the 1960s. At the intersection of bohemian circles and anti-authoritarian neo-Marxist currents, the concept of Spassguerilla [fun guerrilla] developed as a witty take on society. The disrespectful behaviour of activists challenging the authorities and taken- for-granted social rules became a sign of a society in transformation. This article will approach humorous forms of protest by focusing on an organizational nucleus of Spassguerilla, Kommune 1. Three of their protests will be referred to in order to understand the tactical concept and the environment with which it reacted. This article aims to provide answers to the following questions: What à I am indebted to the research group, ‘‘Civil Society, Citizenship and Political Mobilization in Europe’’ at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin fu¨ r Sozialforschung (Social Science Research Center Berlin) for a lively and fruitful discussion of an earlier version of this paper. I would also like to thank Andrew Tompkins for applying his linguistic skills to the original manuscript. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.34.90, on 27 Sep 2021 at 02:50:25, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002085900700315X 116 Simon Teune were the conditions in which this new kind of activism emerged? What was the public perception of this phenomenon (and how was its image constructed ex post)? And, lastly, what form did the reaction to this challenge take? Before these questions are tackled, we shall reflect on the use of analysing humour in social movements. Abundant research into humour has underlined the central role of this phenomenon in both constructing and deconstructing meaning in every- day life. Beyond its relief function, humour is known to be a means of bringing power relations to the surface. Research shows that in power- ridden environments, be they in the business world or totalitarian regimes, jokes are an everyday form of communication to articulate discontent and visualize injustice in a less offensive way.1 Obviously, the focus on humour as a way to express grievances can also enrich the cultural analysis of social movements. We may, however, assume that social movements as agents of social change do not typically rely on ‘‘reinforcing humour’’ that affirms the given social order, but rather on ‘‘subversive’’ forms.2 Insurgents have used ‘‘wit as a weapon’’3 throughout human history. Making fun of opponents distinguishes in- and out-group members. Thus, humour can be a medium to assert identities, unite activists, and encourage them to continue their struggle. Internally, conflicts within the movement might also be eased by changing to a lighter tone. For the analysis of humour, a hitherto understudied aspect in the research of social movements, a distinction between the internal and external use of humour is essential. Social movements can be defined as separate spheres or subculturesthatdefinethemselvesincontrasttotheirenvironmentoraspects of that environment. Yet to make a difference, they act in public arenas. They mobilize for the purpose of protest and introduce novel knowledge into public discourses. Humour can play a role in both contexts – either as an internal mode of communication oras away to go public (in other words, asa form of protest). In both environments, humour being ‘‘intimately related to conflict’’4 serves to illustrate what is at stake and where the front lines are. So, obviously,humourinsocialmovementsprovidesarichsourcethatallowsthe tracing of political struggles in everyday behaviour. 1. See, for instance, Hans-Jochen Gamm, Der Flu¨ sterwitz im dritten Reich (Munich, 1979), and Phil Taylor and Peter Bain, ‘‘‘Subterranean Worksick Blues’: Humour as Subversion in Two Call Centres’’, Organization Studies, 24 (2003), pp. 1487–1509. 2. For the distinction between ‘‘reinforcing’’ and ‘‘subversive humour’’ see Janet Holmes and Meredith Marra, ‘‘Over the Edge? Subversive Humour between Colleagues and Friends’’, Humour, 15 (2002), pp. 65–87. 3. Hans Speier, ‘‘Wit and Politics: An Essay on Laughter and Power’’, American Journal of Sociology, 103 (1998), pp. 1352–1401, 1354. 4. Harry H. Hiller, ‘‘Humor and Hostility: A Neglected Aspect of Social Movement Analysis’’, Qualitative Sociology, 6 (1983), pp. 255–265, 256. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.34.90, on 27 Sep 2021 at 02:50:25, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002085900700315X Humour as a Guerilla Tactic 117 HUMOUR CHALLENGING WHAT? To assess the impact of the student movement in general and Spassguerilla in particular, one has to recall the postwar situation in West Germany. After 1945, the nation that systematically murdered millions of Europeans and razed the continent to the ground was occupied in doing business. The initial attempts by the Western occupying powers to identify and prosecute Nazi perpetrators were abandoned early on for the sake of building a functioning economy and administration. Neither in public nor within most families were the crimes committed a major issue of discussion until the mid 1960s. In this period, anti-communism served as a putty that united a great part of the West and allowed individuals to forget their collective involvement in unprecedented cruelties. Not only was the Communist Party forbidden by the Constitutional Court in 1956, communism was used as a marker to discard most of the extra-parliamentary critique directed against the status quo. Peace-move- ment demonstrations opposing German rearmament in the mid 1950s were subject to constant repression, as they were organized by communist groups, among others. Strict legal constraints on such demonstrations proved that freedom of political expression existed only on paper. Along with the restricted opportunities for political expression, German society was characterized by a conservative culture with few traces of the liberal traditions that had existed in the metropolises during the 1920s. The role of women was restricted to childcare and housekeeping, premarital sex was considered a sin, and rock’n’roll music marked the decline of the West. It was mainly these characteristics that defined the students’ view of West German society. However, the rigid societal model of the Federal Republic was challenged by several developments in the 1960s, of which the emerging student movement was only one. The sociologist Herman Korte described the changes in the Federal Republic as a ‘‘society in break- up’’.5 The formerly exclusive university system was opened up to larger numbers of young people; in the economy, the service sector expanded and both the conservative agrarian and the industrial milieus, which had generated their own specific identities, lost significance. Thanks to a wave of public sex education, the strict postwar morality was also trembling. In the cities, apolitical youth riots such as the Schwabinger Krawalle6 challenged the rules of public order. So when the student rebels entered the stage, the times had already been a-changin’. 5. Hermann Korte, Eine Gesellschaft im Aufbruch. Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland in den sechziger Jahren (Frankfurt, 1987). 6. The riots in Schwabing (a district of Munich) in June 1962 were triggered by a police operation against a couple of youths who performed music in public. Confrontations between the police and several thousand youths lasted for two days and resulted in dozens of injuries and 400 arrests. See Gerhard Fu¨ rmetz (ed.), Schwabinger Krawalle: Protest, Polizei und O¨ ffentlich- keit zu Beginn der 60er Jahre (Essen, 2006). Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.34.90, on 27 Sep 2021 at 02:50:25, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002085900700315X 118 Simon Teune SPASSGUERILLA AS PART OF THE EMERGING STUDENT MOVEMENT The criticism of society that emerged among students meshed well with the changing architecture of postwar West Germany. However, its appearance was rather unexpected. In the early 1960s, most students did not deviate
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